Stealing Immortal

After finishing off the two, Chen Qingyang saw that the battle in the distance was still undecided.

He used the Void Step Attraction Method to hover in mid-air, preparing to break through to the next level of his Cultivation. This way, during the subsequent search for the Great Soul Scripture, he could be of more help to Liu Tao.

The moment he applied the Immortal Seedling, he crossed from Eighth Realm Perfection into the Ninth Realm. Another strand of Golden Qi rose within his Dantian. As he absorbed the surrounding Spiritual Qi and consumed the Spirit Stone in his palm, the Golden Qi grew increasingly powerful.

It eventually settled in his Mud Ball Palace and Baihui Acupoint, forming a three-six configuration. Six Paths of Golden Qi remained stored in his Dantian, while three paths circulated between his Mud Ball Palace and Baihui Acupoint. His Cultivation had officially entered the Qi Refining Ninth Tier.

The Daoist Sect has a saying: one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all of creation. After achieving Three Golds Perfection, one then uses the Spiritual Sea Qi Storage as the upper Dantian, entering what is known as the Realm of Essence Condensation.

Small golden words floated up again. On them, the progress for the One-Origin Sword had suddenly jumped from two thousand to twenty thousand. ’It seems that to break through realms, I’ll have to cultivate other methods,’ he thought. ’Relying on the One-Origin Sword will be too difficult.’

Setting these thoughts aside, Chen Qingyang moved closer to where the three were fighting. Although an hour had passed, the battle was still at a stalemate.

However, from what he could see, Master Wufang was now showing clear signs of exhaustion and looked to be on the losing end.

"You scoundrel! I’ve already slain your two disciples!"

Chen Qingyang shouted, hoping to disrupt his opponent’s Mental Realm, but Master Wufang completely ignored him, focusing solely on dealing with the two people in front of him.

He held a staff in one hand while his other periodically formed seals to control the Array, giving him a distinct advantage. Seeing that this tactic failed, Chen Qingyang turned his attention elsewhere.

This Array was quite impressive. Fortunately, Chen Qingyang had also studied them and had a good grasp of its Array Profound. Every time the Master formed a hand seal, black snakes would manifest from all directions. As for where the Array Base was hidden, that would require careful observation.

He sent his Conscious Fish roaming through the area. Whenever the black snakes appeared, he could feel a flare of water-yin energy, leading him to conclude that the Array Base had to be in the water.

He dove into the water, swimming back and forth until he finally spotted them: five black Eight Trigrams, hidden underwater and arranged in five directions.

This had to be its Array Building. If he could destroy one part, the Array would descend into chaos, and Master Wufang would lose his advantage.

He once again manifested the Qianxue Sword through Sacrificial Refinement, striking with the full might of his Qi Refining Ninth Realm Cultivation. It was like hitting solid metal; Chen Qingyang grunted as the shock made his arm go numb.

Above, Wu Fang Master’s figure shook violently, but he ultimately stabilized himself with a hand seal. ’The gap between realms is truly hard to overcome,’ Chen Qingyang thought. ’Even at full power, I can’t break this Array.’

Fortunately, Liu Tao saw his action. She gave Lin Qingxuan a meaningful look and shot over like an arrow. Before she even reached the water’s surface, the Cyan Simurgh Flying Sword struck out fiercely. A blast of Profound Light erupted, shattering a piece of the black Eight Trigrams.

Chen Qingyang seized the opportunity to strike an adjacent one with his sword. This time, the Eight Trigrams shattered quickly. A moment later, the Array dissipated, leaving the Master with only a Snake Staff in his hand.

"You sharp-eyed brat, to actually see through my Array!"

With that, he lunged to kill Chen Qingyang, but Lin Qingxuan was quick to react, intercepting him once more. With Liu Tao also pressing the attack, the already disadvantaged Master was no match for the two of them and was defeated in short order.

"Hmph, consider yourselves lucky today!" With that said, he started to transform into a whirlwind to escape. But Lin Qingxuan, clearly knowing his nature, performed Sacrificial Refinement on the Jade Talismans she carried, forming a Circulation Array that enveloped him.

Liu Tao acted decisively. Gritting her teeth, she coated the Cyan Simurgh Sword with Nine Flavors True Fire and aimed it straight at the spot between his brows.

A violent fluctuation rocked the air. Chen Qingyang saw a dark figure plummeting from within the black clouds. Lin Qingxuan, having anticipated this, used a Jade Talisman to control his descent, sweeping him toward a small, deserted island nearby.

Chen Qingyang and Liu Tao exchanged a look and hurried to follow. By the time everyone had landed, Master Wufang was spitting up blood, completely unable to move.

"Junior Sister Lin... I know you’ve always wanted the Armor I carry. After Sacrificial Refinement, it can be used for the Jiang Palace acupoint. I’ll give it to you. Just spare me."

’The Jiang Palace is the Third Acupoint of Essence Condensation cultivation,’ Chen Qingyang recalled. He had seen this Armor technique before, using a Magical Artifact to anchor an acupoint. He could deduce that this Armor-Controlling Magical Artifact was required for every advancement in Cultivation.

Lin Qingxuan was utterly ruthless. Ignoring his words, she formed another hand seal and snatched something from Master Wufang’s body, tucking it into her sleeve so quickly that even Chen Qingyang couldn’t get a clear look at it.

Lying on the ground, Master Wufang was obviously in extreme pain. He curled into a ball, his lips turning deathly pale.

"Senior Brother Chen, if you have questions for him, ask them now."

Hearing her say this, Master Wufang was momentarily confused as to which of the three was actually in charge.

Liu Tao’s face was slightly flushed, and she was still panting for breath, unable to speak. Chen Qingyang stepped forward. "I’m only going to ask you two things. Just answer me truthfully, can you do that?"

Master Wufang ignored him, his gaze shifting to Lin Qingxuan. "Junior Sister Lin, if I tell you, will you really spare me? Don’t worry, I promise I won’t say a word about you colluding with Disciples from the Tai Xu Sect."

Lin Qingxuan didn’t speak. Chen Qingyang asked again, "If you answer my questions, I might consider sparing your life after crippling your Cultivation."

"Haha..." Master Wufang burst out laughing. "Impossible. I know you people, and I know Lin Qingxuan even better. That little wench is cruel and merciless. How could there be any way for me to live..."

Without letting him ramble, Chen Qingyang’s sword rose and fell. He poured Sword Qi into the man’s body, tearing his Divine Soul to shreds.

’The questions I wanted to ask weren’t that important anyway,’ he thought. ’I just wanted this man to die by my hand. Since I’m not getting any answers, there’s no need to waste any more words.’

Liu Tao came back to her senses. "You... didn’t you say you had something to ask him?"

"Senior Sister, I was going to ask about the whereabouts of the Yao Family’s Fourth Son and Water Spirit Immortal. Since he wouldn’t talk, I had to kill him to prevent future trouble for us, and especially for Junior Sister Lin."

Hearing Chen Qingyang’s explanation, Liu Tao said, "You don’t need to ask about the Water Spirit Immortal anymore. It’s on this island. And there’s no need to look for the Yao Family’s Fourth Son, whether he’s alive or dead. He’s just a mere mortal."

After hearing this, Chen Qingyang could only say, "Senior Sister is absolutely right."

At this point, Lin Qingxuan, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke. "Now that Master Wufang has been dealt with, I should be heading back. Whatever you plan to do here, don’t take more than ten days, lest you arouse the Sect’s suspicion... Senior Brother Chen, take good care of yourself!"

Chen Qingyang looked at her. ’Everyone’s fate is out of their own hands now; we all have things we must do.’ He could only say, "Junior Sister Lin, be careful. We’ll meet again someday!"

In the Cyan Nether State, the Dao and Demons were irreconcilable. Though he said they would meet again, it was more likely they never would. It was doubtful such a coincidental encounter would ever happen again.

Lin Qingxuan gave Liu Tao a deep look, then her gaze lingered on Chen Qingyang for a moment. "Mm. Senior Brother Chen, please give my regards to the other two for me."

"I will. They’ll be thrilled to know you’re still alive."

After one last look at him, Lin Qingxuan said no more. She simply disposed of the corpse on the ground before a streak of Profound Light shot into the sky, and she vanished over the horizon.

"Hey, she’s gone. What are you still looking at?" Liu Tao asked.

Chen Qingyang was lost in thought. "I was just thinking about the three of us on the slopes of Four Golden Peaks. A few months ago, we were all struggling to enter the Outer Sect, eating and living together, working side by side. It’s all still so clear in my mind. Now, our fates have diverged so completely. It’s just a little sad, that’s all."

Only then did Liu Tao understand that he wasn’t just sighing over a girl, but over the three youths who once shared a common dream and were now walking completely different paths.

"Senior Sister, you look exhausted. Why don’t you rest and meditate here? I’ll go gather the Water Spirit Immortal, and then we’ll go find the Great Soul Scripture!"

Liu Tao huffed. "So now you finally remember to care about me, knowing I’ve used up a lot of True Power. Fine. The island isn’t that big anyway. Go on, but be quick."

"Okay."

Taking advantage of the free moment, Chen Qingyang checked his status again. The death of the Essence Condensation Second Realm Cultivator had directly awarded him 3,647 Immortal Seedlings.

’If I wanted to, I could break through using the True Method of the Star Pivot and Purple Star right now,’ he mused. ’I just don’t know if this method is enough to reach the Realm of Essence Condensation.’

’Once I really reach the Essence Condensation stage, I’ll have to be much more careful with how I proceed.’

The island was at most thirty zhang square, like the tip of a mountain poking out from the center of the Great Marsh. When they were approaching earlier, he had seen a rainbow-colored rain hovering in the sky above it—the unique phenomenon created by the Water Spirit Immortal.

The phenomenon had been scattered by the Array, but it at least confirmed that the Water Spirit Immortal was on this island.

The area wasn’t large, but the forest was dense. Chen Qingyang stood on high ground, using only his Conscious Fish to search for a place with abundant water qi. After circling four or five times, he finally pinpointed its location.

No matter how dense the vegetation, the Conscious Fish moved through it with ease. Behind several large trees lay seven or eight large boulders. Through a crack between them was a grotto, and inside that grotto, Chen Qingyang saw the Water Spirit Immortal.

It was a palm-sized, silvery-white flower. Its form was graceful, like a woman in mid-dance. It was partially enveloped by a giant green leaf, surrounded by a shimmering glow and a layer of water vapor. According to the records, this was without a doubt the Water Spirit Immortal.

He went down himself, cutting a path through the trees with his sword. He then moved the boulders aside and squeezed into the grotto. With his sword, he sliced off the flower, leaf and all. After bringing it out of the grotto, he carefully wrapped the flower in the large green leaf to ensure its Spiritual Qi would not dissipate.

When he returned to Liu Tao’s side, she had not yet woken up. Chen Qingyang stood over her, acting as her Guardian.

「Sun rose and set; a crescent moon hung among fading stars.」

Liu Tao slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Chen Qingyang’s back, facing away from her. She watched him secretly for a long moment before making a small noise.

"Senior Sister, you’re awake?"

Liu Tao’s demeanor was surprisingly gentle. "Mm, I’m mostly recovered. How about you?"

Chen Qingyang handed her the Water Spirit Immortal. "I’m fine. Take a look, did I preserve this correctly?"

Liu Tao only spared it a portion of her attention. "Mm, no problems. We can just bring it back like this and report our success."

"Senior Sister, tomorrow we officially set foot in the territory of the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace. Let’s continue to rest here tonight and set out at daybreak."

Liu Tao’s wandering thoughts were finally pulled back. "Mm. We’ll act according to the circumstances. We must not stir up any trouble we don’t have to."

"Don’t worry, Senior Sister!"

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